Aircraft load-release device



Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 3 I w H 1 a 7v) w v I H n W H 1 w f w m wu H n 1. M Lin W III 1 II III! S mummunununmunnnuunnuuuwm k F- mummmnuuuunnnnnnuuumnunum I 1 I 7 I Z/lll l/ l// l Oct. 31, 1961 J. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 unnnuunnunun Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT 3,006,253

AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 6 J. C. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 Oct. 31, 1961 15 Sheets-Sheet 8 Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June '7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-*RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 10 Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT 3,006,253

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Oct. 31, 1961 J. c. PAROT AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed June 7, 1956 15 Sheets-Sheet 15 3,006,253 Patented Oct. 31, 1961 3,006,253 AIRCRAFT LOAD-RELEASE DEVICE Jean Charles Parot, Paris, France, assignor to Sud-Aviation, Societe Nationale de Constructions Aeronautiques, Paris, France, a French company Original application June 7, 1956, Ser. No. 589,931, now Patent No. 2,921,501, dated Jan. 19, 1960. Divided and this application Aug. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 841,916 4 Claims. (Cl. 89-15) This application is a divisional application of application Serial No. 589,931 filed June 7, 1956, now U.S. Patent No. 2,921,501.

The projectiles (bombs, self-propelled engines, rockets, etc.) or similar loads carried by an airplane, or any other aircraft, are often disposed outside the same to increase the dropping accuracy. This arrangement, however, ofiers the drawback of considerably increasing the drag of the aerodyne. to transport loads such as projectiles in appropriate stowage-rooms and to jettison them through a patch in the bottom Wall of such rooms by opening a drop-gate. This method, however, cannot be used for releasing selfpropelled engines while, in the case of bombs, the accuracy of the dropping is considerably impaired.

The invention has for its purpose to provide a device which suppresses these drawbacks since it permits transporting the loads'to be jettisoned in stowage-rooms of which the outer wall offers a continuous stream-lined profile, said device bringing, when required, the loads into jettisoning position whereupon it substantially reestablishes the initial continuity of the said profile.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to transport a load to be jettisoned in a stowage-room having a hatch normally obturated by a drop-gate, comprising one or more panels, the said load being releasably secured inside the stowage-room on a load-carrying structure, hereafter called the support, adapted to be brought out through the hatch after opening of the drop-gate, whereupon the hatch is obturated anew by a member integral with the said support. If required, this obturation may be completed by a partial re-closing of the drop-gate.

Preferably, the complete re-closing of the drop-gate is automatically triggered as the support reaches the end of its retracting stroke.

As described hereunder, a coordination between the various controls may be ensured by electric and/or' mechanical means.

In'the device according to the invention, in view of preserving the general stream-lined profile of the airplane, the drop-gate preferably opens inside the stowage-room.

A more particular object of the invention is to control the displacements of the above mentioned support by means of a hydraulic jack, while the load is preferably set into jettisoning position by means of a control automatically triggered as thehrop-gatereaehesthe"end of its opening stroke.

In an embodiment of the invention, the stroke of the above mentioned hydraulic jack is approximately equal to the useful height of the stowage-room, while, the support offers the shape of a plate having a profile adapted to that of the hatch. Thus, at the end of the outwards or lowering stroke of the support, the said plate practically obturates' the hatch.

It has been proposed heretofore In another embodiment of the invention, the overall stroke of the jack is greater than the useful height of the stowage-room and the adjacent edges of the dropgate panels are provided with registering notches to ac commodate the linkages interconnecting the jack with the support. In these conditions, the support may be brought completely outside the hatch and the drop-gate may be re-closed behind the said support. It is thus possible, when self-propelled engines are to be released, to transport said engines inside the aerodyne and to bring them, shortly before dropping, outside the aerodyne at a sufi'icient distance from the re-closed drop-gate, so that the starting of the engine does not risk to damage the aerodyne.

In the last case, two additional coordinating or interlocking systems may be provided, viz. one for subordinat-ing the re-closing of the drop-gate to the complete lowering of the support and another one for subordinating the retraction of the support to the complete resultant motion is obtained by inverting their Way of rotation.

In order to reduce the frictions, at least the nut-andscrew mechanism of the jack is constituted by a so-called integral screw associated with a specially designed nut provided with rolling bodies cooperating with the grooves between the threads of the screw. Two separate reversible electric motors may be used for controlling the drop-gate and the jack respectively, said motors being preferably electrically interconnected through reversing switches actuated by end-of-stroke abutments provided on the jack and the gate.

This electric interconnection is advantageously so designed that at the end of the lowering stroke of the support suitable electric circuits are prepared for the retracting stroke and vice versa.

Alternatively, in both above described embodiments of the device, the control of the jack and that of the drop-gate may be ensured by onesingle motor provided with a reversing device associated with the planet-wheel carrier of a differential gear, of which one sun-wheel drives the screw jack, while the other sun-wheel actuates the drop-gate. In these'conditions, if said sun-wheels are selectively held stationary, the same motor successively controls first the jack and then the drop-gate.

For example, in the first embodiment described, the same motor can, without reversal of its rotation during the Whole lowering operation, first open the drop-gate then bring thesappcrtone lheew a of retation the end of the lowering stroke a re-closing of the dropgate and, before the retraction of the support, a reopening of the dropgate. These additional reversals of the way of rotation of the motor may be obtained by means of end-ofastroke'abutments.

In all eases, suitable braking devices are preferably provided to avoid any unwanted operation of the mechanism under the action of extraneous forces.

In an advantageous constructive embodiment of the invention comprising a ditferential gear, the control of the jack and that of the drop-gate are rotatable and caxial and the rotating shaft controlling the gate is threaded and carries a non-rotatable nut, so that the displacement of the said nut along the said shaft, gives an indication of the position of the drop-gate panels. With this arrangement, the abutments provided to control the reversing contacts, for the jack as well as forthe dropgate may be disposed along the said coaxial shafts, which greatly simplifies the design of the coordinating or interlocking systems.

Moreover, in the differential gear, each sun-wheel is preferably associated with an automatic clutching-declutching device of the type wherein. a helical toothedwheel rotates with the said sun-wheel in permanent gearing relationship with a reversible tangential wornnscrew keyed ona shaft rotatively and slidably mounted on a fixed casing between a low friction abutment and a clutching high-friction abutment.

.Thus, when the planet-wheel carrier is rotated, since both sun-wheels tend to be driven the same way, one of them brings the shaft of its tangential screw on its highfriction abutment, while the other one brings the shaft of its tangential screw towards its low-friction abutment.

In consequence, the first sun-wheel is stopped while the second one remains free of rotating. This arrangement oifers several advantages. First of all, any jamming of the differential gear is avoided. Moreover, only the FIGURE '16 is a view of a detail of FIGURE 13 during the first step of the operation.

FIGURES 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 show the device of FIGURE 13 during the following steps of its operation.

FIGURE 22 is an alternative wiring diagram of the device shown in FIGURES 13 to 16, and

FIGURE 23 shows an alternative embodiment of a detail of FIGURE 22.

In FIGURESI and 2, of which the only purpose is to illustrate the principle of the invention, and in which no detail of the mechanisms has been shown, the fuselage 1 of an airplane includes a stowage-room normally obturated by a drop-gate constituted, in the example shown, by two sliding panels 2. Inside the stowage-room is disposed a plate 3 under. which are suspended bombs 4. This plate may be displaced vertically by means of a screw-jack 5 which, in a first embodiment of the inven tion, is driven, through a differential gear, from a motor 6. In this case, as explained hereunder, this same differential gear also permits driving shafts 7 controlling the panels 2, as described hereunder and as shown in FIG- URE 5.

In FIGURE 1, the panels 2 are closed and the bombs 4 are located within the stowage-room.

When the bombs are to be dropped; the panels 2 are first open and preferably, as shown in FIGURE 2, withdravwi inside the stowage-room.

The plate 3 is lowered and obturates the hatch. The bombs 4 are thus brought outside the stowage-room and may be jettisoned from the plate 3 by any known means. From the position of FIGURE 1 to that of FIGURE 2, two steps of operation comprising the opening of the required sun-wheel is rotated during the initial period of the actuation; finally, the high-friction abutments oppose any counter-rotation of the sun-wheels.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example and in which:

FIGURES 1 and 2 are diagrammatic perspective views of a device according to the invention to be used for dropping bombs.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show an alternative embodiment to be used for releasing a self-propelled engine.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of a stowageroom showing the device for controlling opening and closing of the drop-gate.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section, along the longitudinal axis of an airplane, of a device for guiding the vertical motion of a bomb-carrying plate.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view, along line VII-VII of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view along line VIII-VIII of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9, similar to FIGURE 6, shows the plate in its lowermost position.

FIGURES l0 and 11, respectively, similar to FIG- URES 6 and 9, show a device for guiding the vertical motion of an engine-carrying structure.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view along line XII-XII 0f FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is a vertical sectional view of a differential gear mechanism for controlling from one single motor the drop-gate and the jack actuating the load-carrying support.

FIGURE 13a is a wiring diagram for the motor shown in FIGURE 13.

FIGURE 14 is a sectional view along line XIVXIV of FIGURE 13.

FIGURE 15 is a sectional view along line XV-XV of FIGURE 13.

panels 2 and the lowering of the plate 3 must be eifected in this order. Conversely, to return from the position of FIGURE 2 to that of FIGURE 1, it is necessary to retract the plate 3 and then to re-close the panels 2.

In the case (FIGURE 3) when the projectile to be jettisoned is a special engine 8, the same is preferably supported by a beam 9 held longitudinally aligned with the fuselage 1 by means of articulated linkages 10. In this case, the jack 5 is provided with a telescopic screw. In the releasing position (FIGURE 4), both members 5a and 5b of the said screw are extended, which brings the engine 8 to a certain distance from the fuselage 1. This permits re-closing the panels 2b behind the engine. For this purpose, the said panels are provided, in their adjacent edges, with registering notches 11 to accommodate the lower members of the articulated linkages 10 and the lower member 5b of the telescopic screw.

In this example, the notches 11 constitute, in the configuration engine inside-drop-gate closed, small solutions of continuity of the profile. However, it will be easily understood that, if desired, a perfectly continuous profile may be obtained in the configuration engine inside-drop-gate closed as well as in the configuration engine outside-drop-gate closed by suitably shaping the panels which, for example, may be partially overlapping in the first one of said configurations.

The passage from the configuration shown in FIGURE 3 to that of FIGURE 4 thus implies successively and, in this order,

(1) opening of the drop-gate, (2) lowering of the engine, (3) re-closing of the drop-gate.

Conversely, the return from the configuration shown in FIGURE 4 to that of FIGURE 3 requires: (1) re-opening of the drop-gate, (2) retraction of the beam 9 previously carrying the ens (3) re-closing of the drop-gate.

It is to be noted that, in the two cases, respectively shown in FIGURES l and 2, on one side, and 3 and 4, on the other side, the device according to the invention offers the additional advantage of facilitating the operations of loading.

As a matter of fact, with such a device, it sufiices, when the stowage-room is to be loaded, to bring the support into outside position, to releasably secure the load thereunder, to retract the said support, and to re-close the dropgate.

These various operations, both in the case of bombs and in the case of a special engine, are obtained by means of mechanisms which will be described hereunder with reference to FIGURES 13, etc.

However, the devices provided to control opening and closing of the drop-gate, on the one hand, and those provided for guiding the vertical displacements of the plate 3 or the beam 9 by means of one single jack acting substantially at their centre of gravity will be first described.

In FIGURE 5, the shaft 7 is rotated from the motor 6, as more precisely exposed hereunder. Near the ends of the stowage-room, bevel gears 1213 are provided to transmit the rotation of the shaft 7 to vertical shafts 14 journalled in bearings 15. At this lower end, each one of said shafts 14 carries a bevel pinion 1'6 gearing with two other bevel pinions 17 also journalled in bearings 15. The axle of each pinion 17 is connected, through a ball-andsocket joint 18, to a threaded rod 19. Each threaded rod 19 meshes with a nut 20 pivoted around an axle 21 carried by one arm 22 of an articulated linkage comprising two arms 22 and 23. The upper end of each arm 22 is pivoted around an axle 24. The lower end of each arm 23 is hinged, through a pivot 25, on a Shoe 26 rigid with one of the hatch panels 2. Each shoe 26 carries two rollers 27 and 28. The roller 27 is rollingly guided between the curved arms of a U-shaped guide 29. The roller 28, in the position shown in full line in FIGURE is released from a guide 30 similar to the guide 29 and concentric thereto.

This device operates as follows:

In the position shown in full line in FIGURE 5, the panels 2 are closed; the adjacent edges of said panels bear against each other, while their outer edges rest on longitudinal bearing ribs 31 provided along the edges of the opening of the hatch. The two arms 22 and 23 of each linkage are substantially aligned, thus acting as a kneepiece to safely hold the panels closed. When the shaft 7 is rotated the suitable way, the nuts are displaced in the direction of the arrows along the threaded rods 19.

This displacement causes a break of the knee-joint between the arms 22 and 23 and since the rollers 27 are abutted against the lower end of the guide 29, the rollers 28 are brought into the position 28a in contact with the upper rail of the guide 30. The external edge of each hatch panel is thus released from the rib 31 and is brought into the position 2a.

While they continue to rotate, the rods 19 further drive the nuts 20 in the directions of thearrows so that both rollers 27 and 28 are displaced upwardly along the guides 29 and 30. At the end of this displacement, the arms 22 and 23 assume the positions 22a and 23a, wherein the panels 2 are in the position 2b. The hatch is thus completely opened to permit lowering the bomb-carrying plate or the self-propelled engine to be jettisoned.

Conversely, if the shafts 7 are rotated the opposed way, the hatch panels are brought back into obturating position.

Since both shafts 7 rotate at each instant by the same angle, so that all nuts 20 are simultaneously displaced by the same distance at both ends of the stowage-room, both hatch panels move symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal mid plane of the hatch.

In the diagrammatic views of FIGURES 1 and 2, the plate 3 is advantageously suspended through a swivel-joint in the vicinity of its centre of gravity to the lower end of the screw-jack 5.

The following description refers to FIGURES 6 to 12 and gives an illustration of means for guiding the displacement of the plate 3 or the beam 9, while maintaining the same in parallel relationship with themselves.

At the ends of the plate 3 and in the vicinity of its corners (FIGURES 6 to 9-), levers 33 are pivoted on axles 32, each of said levers carrying at its free end, on a transverse axle 34, a pair of rollers 35. The two rollers of each pair are guided in two registering hollow rails 36 rigid with the fuselage and carried, for example, on supports 37 secured to a surface 38 that constitutes the top wall of the stowage-room.

The levers 33 of each pair located at each end of the plate 3 (which in this embodiment constitutes a kind of frame) are interconnected through an axle 39 on which is journalled a tube 40. Curvated arms 41 are secured at one end to said tube 40 and pivoted at their other end around an axle 42 carried on a support 43. This constitutes a rigid assembly which is attached to the fuselage 1 for example on intermediate partitions 44 acting as cross-bracing members for the fuselage and limiting longitudinally the stowage-room.

Each axle 34 carries a nut 46 preferably of the multiple thread type, said threads being strongly inclined so as to act as a reversible threading; the two nuts 46 of each pair ofier opposite-hand pitches. In these nuts are engaged the also opposite-hand threaded ends of a rod 47 rotatably, but not slidably, mounted in a bearing 49 rigid with the fuselage 1. The screws 47 located on either side of the plate carry pinions with oblique toothings 50 gearing with right-angled bevel pinions 51 keyed on a same shaft 52.

As the jack 5 begins to displace the plate 3 vertically, all rollers 35 are simultaneously displaced in the rails 36 which exert, according to the directions of the said displacement, either a pulling or a pushing stress on all nuts 46. Now the displacement of only one of said nuts suffices to determine a rotation of the corresponding threaded rod 47 and, hence, through the gears 50, 5-1 and 52, a rotation of both rods 47 in the same sense and by the same angle. As a result, the four nuts 46 are displaced by the same distance so that the four corners of the plate are lowered or raised by the same height.

Thus, starting from the position of FIGURE 6, the plate may be brought, at the end of its lowering stroke, into the position shown in FIGURE 9, while continuously remaining parallel to itself.

The same guiding arrangements may be adopted for actuating a beam 9 carrying a special engine 8 to ensure lowering and raising of the said beam in continuous parallel relationship with itself. However, an alternative embodiment of a guiding device more especially adapted to this case will be described hereunder.

In FIGURES 10 to 12, the articulated levers 10 shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 comprise two arms 10a and 10b the ends of which are respectively hinged on the fuselage through yokes 53 and on 'the beam through yokes 54. The arm 10b is provided with an upward extension and carries on an axle 34, a pair of rollers 35.

As more clearly shown in FIGURE 12, the arm 10b has the general form of a lozenge, while each arm 10a is duplicated. Thus, there are only used two pairs of rails 36 aligned with each other and extending symmetrically with respect to the mid vertical plane of the whole assembly.

To obtain a lowering of the beam in permanent parallel relationship with itself, it sufiices that both axles 34 be displaced by the same length and in the same direction. This result may be obtained by means of a cable 55 forming a loop and passing over pulleys 56. This cable anchored to both axles 34 crosses itself in the mid region of the device and passes over auxiliary pulleys 5-7.

In these conditions, when one of the axies 34 moves by a certain distance in a given direction, the other axle is contrained to move to the same extent and in the same direction which ensures a displacement of the beam 9 in parallel relationship with itself.

In FIGURES 13 to 15, there is shown a device which may be used for displacing vertically either a plate 3 or a beam 9 and which permits, moreover, with one single motor, also maintaining the actuation of the drop gate at the required time. This device corresponds to the assembly -6 of FIGURES 1 to 4. It comprises a motor 58 which, through one or more reducing gears 59, drives the planet-wheel carrier 60 of a differential gear having bevel pinions. .The planet-wheels 61 gear with two sun-wheels 62 and 63 having opposed bevel toothings. These sun-wheels are carried on coaxial tubular shafts 62a and 630, respectively. The tubular shaft 62a which extends inside the shaft 63a is rigid with a helical toothedwheel 62b gearing with a tangential worm-screw 64. Similarly, the tubular shaft 631; carries a helical toothed-wheel 63b gearing with a second tangential worm-screw 65. Both worm-screws 64 and 65 are reversible; in other words, not only can they drive the helical wheels 62!) and 63b, but they may be also driven from the latter. However, the tangential component of the driving torque exerts a slight axial stress on each of the shafts (64a, 65a) carrying the said wormscrews. Now, the shaft 641: carries at one end a frictionplate 64b which may be engaged on a high-friction ring 640 while the shaft 65a carries a similar friction-plate 65b that may be engaged on a high-friction ring 650.

As well known, when the planet-wheel carrier 60 of such a differential gear is rotated, both sun-wheels 62 and 63 and, hence, both helical-wheels 62b and 63b, tend to be rotated the same way.

When, as shown in FIGURES 14 and 15, both sunwheels are rotated as indicated by the arrow D, the helical wheel 62b displaces the worm-screw 64 towards the left, which presses the plate 6417 against its highfriction ring 64c so that, in the absence of any extraneous action on the shaft 64a, the sun-wheel 62 becomes prevented from rotating. In the same time, the rotation D of the sun-Wheel 63 also pushed towards the left the shaft 65a, which takes the plate 65b away from its high-friction ring. Thus, the sun-wheel 63 is free of rotating. Conversely, for a rotation R, it is the sun-wheel 62 which can rotate freely, while, in the absence of any extraneous action on the shaft 65a, the sun-wheel 63' is held stationary.

Each shaft (64a65a) comprises a thinner portion (64d and 65d respectively) journal-led in a ball-bearing. The latter act as abutments to limit the axial displacement of the shafts 64a and 65a, as the plates 64b and 65b are taken away from their high friction-abutment. Thus, in FIGURE 16, where the drive has been assumed to take place as indicated by the arrows D, the shaft 65a abuts against the ball-bearing 65c.

The shaft 62a is provided with longitudinal splines on which is engaged a screw 66 cooperating with a nut 67. The said nut which has been diagrammatically shown in the conventional form preferably includes rolling bodies such as rollers engaged between the threads of the screw so as to reduce the friction by screwing. The plate 3 is secured through a swivel-joint 68 to the lower end of the screw 66. The said swivel-joint is carried in a ring 71 which is freely rotatable in a groove provided at the lower portion of the screw 66 so that the latter can rotate freely.

Inside the tubular shaft 62a, is disposed a second screw 69 for which the lower portion of the screw 66 acts as a nut. This inner screw, which is removable, is secured at its lower end toa second swivel-joint 70 provided for attaching the beam 9. The said joint is rigid with the screw 69. Since the nut driving the said screw is rotatable (screw 66) the axial displacement of the screw 69 is obtained by preventing the said screw from rotating.

The screws 66 and 69 respectively correspond to the screws 5a and 5b of FIGURE 4. The rotation of the sun-wheel 62 brings the screw 66 out together with the screw 69 since, due to the presence of the swivel-joint 70, this last screw cannot rotate owing to the interconnection of the beam 9 through the linkages 10' with the fuselage of the aircraft.

The tubular shaft 63a which carries at its lower end a bevel-toothing 72 gears with bevel-pinions 73 driving shafts 7. The mid-portion of the tubular shaft 63-63 is threaded as indicated at 74 and, on this threading, is engaged a nut 75 prevented from rotating by a longitudinal key 76. The nut 75 constitutes a kind of repeater for indicating the position of the hatch panels. For this purpose, the axial stroke of said nut is so calculated that during this stroke, the rotation of the shaft 7 ensures a complete opening or closing stroke of the hatch panels through the intermediary of the device described with reference to FIGURE 5. Thus, for example, when the nut is in its lowermost position (as shown in FIGURE 13), the hatch panels are closed while, when it is in its uppermost position, the hatch panelsv are open.

The device shown in FIGURE 13 further comprises electrical and mechanical coordinating devices so as to ensure the motion sequences required as specified with reference to FIGURES 1 to 4.

These coordinating devices include a lever 77 acted upon by a return spring 78 of which the end 77a may be displaced upwardly by a flange provided on the screw 66. Thus, the lever 77 is actuated when the screw 66 has reached its uppermost position, -i.e. when the beam has reached the top of the stowage-room. This lever 77 acts, through a rod 79 and a bell-crank lever 80 carrying a push finger 191 on a shouldering of the shaft 65a in the suitable direction to take the plate 65b away from its high-friction abutment 65c (cf. FIGURE 15). Above the lever 77 is disposed a second lever 81 of which the end 81a is actuated by a flange 82 of the screw 66 when the same has been completely lowered (cf. FIGURE 15) through a lever 83 provided with a fork 83. This lever may control the tilting member 84 of an electric reversing switch to be described hereunder with reference to FIGURE 13a.

Above the lever 81 is disposed a third lever 85 of which the end 85a is actuated when the nut 75 is in its lowermost position. Through a fork linkage 86, the lever 85 also acts on the tilting member of the reversing switch 84 and through a linkage 87 it further acts on the til-ting member 88 of a second reversing switch to be also described with reference to FIGURE 13a. Finally, the lever 85 further acts, as also described with reference to this figure, on a pair of contacts.

Above the lever 85 are pivoted around a common axle 90 two levers 89 and 189 slightly shifted with respect to each other so that the lever 189 be first engaged as the nut 75 is raised. Thus, these two levers are successively tilted as the nut 75 reaches its uppermost position. The lever 89 is interconnected through 'a rod 91 with a bell-crank lever 92 which, through a ball-thrust bearing 93 may act on the shaft 64a to take the plate 64b away from the high-friction abutment 64c (of. FIGURE 14). The lever 189 carries a hook 190 which is pressed upon by a leaf-spring 192 and which may engage the push finger 191 to release the same from the shoulder-ing of the shaft 65a.

Further to the levers 89 and 189, the axle 90 also carries a crank-a1m 94 at the end of which is pivoted a dog 95 cooperatingwith a stud 96 carried by the lever 89. A spring 97 urges the said dog towards the said stud. On the common pivot 98 of the dog and crankarm is further hinged a rod 99 leading to a sixth lever 100 located in the upper portion of the device. The end of the lever 89 to which is secured the rod 91 carries a cranked floating lever 101 interconnected through a short rod 102 with the tilting member 88.

Finally, at the upper end of the device is secured in the vicinity of the lever 100 a seventh lever 163 which, through a linkage 104, is connected with a bell-crank 9 lever 105 which may act, through a ball thrust-bearing 106, on thelshaft 76611119, take the-plate 65b away from its high-friction abutment 65c, i.e. in the same direction as the push finger 191. The bell-crank lever 105 is provided with an extent 105a, the end finger 105b of which may act on the floating crank lever 101. Moreover, on the bell-crank lever 105 is hinged a fork ring 107 acting on a dog 195 in opposition with a spring 197.

The end of the lever 103 is engaged in an opening of a sleeve 108 slidably mounted towards the top of the device. The said sleeve 108 is connected with a telescopic rod 109 extending along the axis of the device and the lower end 10911 of which is adapted to come into contact with the partially obturated upper end 69a of the screw 69. Thus, at the end of the lowering stroke, since the rod 109 is completely elongated, it drives the sleeve 108 downwardly, which causes tilting of the lever 103. Conversely, the upward displacement of said sleeve is ensured by the return spring 110 of the lever 103.

The lower end of the sleeve 108 is provided with dogclutch teeth 111. The said dog-teeth are adapted to cooperate for dog-clutching purposes with registering dogteeth 112a of another sleeve 112 keyed on the tubular shaft 62a. The sleeve 112 is subjected to the action of a return-spring 113 so that, in spite of the dog-clutching action between the teeth 111 and 112a, the shaft 62a remains free of rotating one way (corresponding to the downward direction of displacement of the screw). However, even when the sleeve 108 is in its lowermost position, due to the presence of the lever 100, it is possible to release the dog-teeth 112a from the dog-teeth 111 by displacing the sleeve 112 against the action of the spring 11 3.

In order to take into account possible small defects of alignment between the mechanism and the attachmentjoint of the plate or the beam, the said mechanism is suspended in the stowage-room through a swiveljoint 114.

FIGURE 13a shows a wiring diagram for the above described device.

58 is an electric motor of the compound type, i.e. comprising for energizing its rotor 115 a shunt-winding 116 and a series-winding 117.. As well known, the rotation V of such a motor may be reversed by means of a two-way switch capable of inverting the'polarity of the current through the rotor while leaving"unchanged thepclarity of the current through the two stators or vice-versa. Such a motor which may be, for example, fed from one pole 118 of a suitable current source comprises conventionally for the reversal of its rotation four terminals a1 a4 to be interconnected with such a two-way switch.

Now, by means of a four-way switch 119 diagrammatically shown in the drawing in dot-dash-line, the four terminals a1 a4 may be interconnected, when the movable member of the said switch 119 is displaced as shown at B with four other terminals 111 b4, and when the said member is displaced as shown at E with four terminals e1 e4.

Through a four-wire cable 120, the four terminals b1 b4 are interconnected, in turn, with four terminals bl b4 of a first rotation reversing device 1 actuated by the tilting member 84.. The reversing device I comprises two movable contactsalllhandlnlfohrtree versal and, moreover, a third movable contact arm 123, the function of which will be described hereunder.

In the position shown in full line of the contact arms 121, 122 and 123, the planet-wheel carrier rotates as indicated by the arrow D. Conversely, for the opposed carrier would rotate as shown at R.

Similarly, a four-wire cable 124 connects the four terminals e1 e4 to the four terminals e'1 e'4 of a second reversing device 1;; only comprising the two con tact arms 125 and 126 required for reversal. As previously, in the full line position of the contact arms 125 10 and 126 the motor rotates as indicated by the arrow D, while in the opposed position of said contact arms, it

rotates as shown at R. The reversing devi'ce IE is ac mated by the tilting member 88. The reversing device I is associated with the control of the plate 3 (bombs) and the reversing device I is associated with the beam 9 (special engine).

The operation of the reversing switch 119 which selectively branches one of the reversing devices I and I may depend on whether the plate 3 or the beam 9 is mounted on the device so that the corresponding reversing device (I or 1 be automatically switched in while the other one remains unoperative.

The energizing circuit of the motor 88 after having passed through the reversing switch 119 is closed on the other pole of the current source through a handle 127 located in the cockpit to be actuated by the pilot. 7 The said handle may be brought into contact either with fixed contacts 0 or with fixed contacts F; in its mid neutral position, the said handle interrupts all feeding circuits. Two conductors 128 and 129 lead from the lower fixed contacts 0 and F of the said handle to the fixed contacts associated with the movable contact arm 123 of the reversing device 1 The two conductors 128 and 129 associated, on the one hand, with the handle 127 and, on the other hand, with the movable contact arm 123 constitute a conventional two-way wiring system for completing the circuit of the motor 58 passing through the reversing device I Similarly, the two upper fixed contacts F and O of the handle 127 are interconnected through conductors 130 and 131 to the reversing device I for completing the circuit of the motor passing through the said reversing device. However, the conductor 130 comprises two parallel derivations 130a and 13% respectively passing through contacts C and C The contact C is associated with the lever 81 and the contact C with the lever 85. Similarly the conductor 131 has two derivations 131a and 131b passing through contacts C and C respectively. In the same manner, as the contact C and in the same direction as the latter, the contact C is associated with the lever and the contact Q; with the lever 103.

It is to be noted that the lever 85 opens both contacts i.e. when the drop-gate is closed. Since the final positions inhthehcaselwhenthe support is constituted by the beam 9, always correspond to the closed configuration of the drop-gate, the lever 85 then interrupts on one derivation of the conductors and 131 the energizing of the motor. It will be seen that, the contacts C and C oriented in the opposed direction act in the same manner when the beam 9 is used as the reversing contact arm 123 in the case when the support is constituted by the plate 3 to obtain a two-way wiring system between the conductors 130 and 131 through the handle 127.

This device operates as follows;

At rest, in both cases when the support is constituted by the plate 3 or by the beam 9, the said support assumes the position shown in FIGURES 1 and 3; in other words, it is enclosed within the stowage-room and the drop-gate is closed. The device shown in FIGURES 13, 13a, 14 and 15 is then in the'configuration shown in these figures.

' Whichever may be the position of the reversing switch 119 (FIGURE 13a), when the handle 127 is;.brought' the reversingne icelgduejojhe position of the contact position of the said contactarms;the said plaaetavheek arm 123 at this moment, or through the derivation 130a and the conductor 130 into the reversing device I since the contact C is then closed.

LAS the motor 58 is started, the sun-wheel 62 is prevented from rotating (FIGURE 14): any angular displacement of the said s un-wheel due either to the motor 

